Improvement in printing-telegraph instruments



3 Sheets--Sheet1.

E. GRAY.

improvement in Printing Teiegraph lnstrur n ents.

Patented Nov. 12, 1872.

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3 Sheets--Sheet 2.

E. GRAY. Improvement in Printing Telegraph Instruments.

NOV. 132,907. Patented Nov.12,1872.

WITNESSES iNVENTElFI .m. PHOfD-L/THDGRAPHIC max/055mm muczss ITNITED STATES am Orr ron.

ELISHA GRAY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.132,907, dated November 12,1872.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ELISHA GRAY, of Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing-Telegraph Instruments, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, which will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing and charts forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1, Plate 1, represents a front elevation of a printing-telegraph instrument provided with my improvements, the upper part of the polarized relay and cylindrical case being broken away for the purpose of exhibiting the parts within the case. Fig, 2, Plate 1, is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3, Plate 1, is a front elevation of the upper part of the polarized relay detached. Fig. 4, Plate 2, is a bottom view of my improved instrument. Fig. 5, Plate 2, is an enlarged view of the unison-stop detached.

Plate 3 represents a plan view or chart, more fully showing the connection between the different parts of the instrument and the relation of the instrument to the batteries andto other instruments along the line.

The object of my invention is to retain the advantages resulting from the use of to-andfro (positive and negative) currents, and dispense with the use of a main battery and polec hanger at every station, excepting at the station where my principal instrument is placed; to render the pole-changer capable of being controlled by an operator at any point on the line; to dispense with the employment of a switch, and provide an instrument which shall be ready for use at all times,- either for transmitting or receiving messages, and which shall always be adjusted to the strength of the batteries, and self-stopping and self-correcting; and it consists in an automatic pole changer; in a novel arrangement of the disk or sunflower, and the keys connected therewith, in relation to certain circuits and currents; and in an automatic electro-unison stop and shunting device, all of which will be hereafter more fully described, and by means of which I am enabled to attain the objects above set forth.

In the drawing, A represents the base or horizontal part of the case, and B the vertical part, having a brass cover, to which parts the various portions of the instrument are either directly or indirectly attached. 0 O

are keys,'the former of which are designated by the letters of the alphabet and marks of punctuation. All arev constructed with gutta-percha heads, having brass pins extending freely through the case. D D are metallic platinum-pointed springs supporting the lower end of the pins projecting from the keys, and E E are metallic strips faced with platinum foil, and united by the cross-piece E, against which strips the movable ends of the springs D D rest. F F are small insulated copper wires, each of which communicates with one of the keys 0 G, and all of which, excepting F, unite and form the cable G, and, there separating, each wire of the cable communicates with one of the metallic pieces, H, all of which are insulated from each other and from the disk to which they are attached. I is an electro-magnet wound with insulated copper wire, (preferably No. 23.) J is a lever,

and K is a' bracket to which-it is pivoted, as

shown at I, Fig. 1. M is a soft-iron armature .rigidly attached to an arm or lever projecting from the shoulder or pivot of the lever J, and Ni's a coil-spring, by which the lever J is drawn back when the circuit through the magnet I is open. When the circuit through the magnet I is closed the armature M is drawn to the poles of the said magnet, and the lever J vibrated as this circuit is opened and closed. 0 is a frame, and P is the press-lever pivoted thereto, to which lever the printing-pad or roller and the feeding mechanism are attached. The lever P is jointed to the lever J in such a manner that the vibration of the latter operates the feeding mechanism and throws the pad against the type-wheel. Q is the type-wheel, rigidly attached to a shaft having bearings in the frame 0. R is a Germansilver spring, rigidly attached to one end of the type-wheel shaft, and having its free end resting on one of the pieces H. For certainty of operation this spring is split and bent in the manner shown. S, Fig. 5, is a disk rigidly attaehed to thetype-w-heel shaft, but adjustable thereon. The outerface of this disk is spirally grooved. T is a platinum pin rigidly at tached to and projecting slightly above the peripheryof thedisk S. U is an arm pivoted to the frame 0, and extending to the central part of the disk S. The free end of this arm is perforated; and V is a headed steel pin passing freely through the said perforation, and projecting into the groove on the disk S. W is a spring rest-ing on the head of the pin V. A is a platinum pin supported by but insulated from the arm U. A small insulated copper wire (not shown) connects the pin A with the inside wire of the magnet B, hereafter mentioned. (3 is a forked arm attached to the lever P and extending upward, its forked portion embracing the arm U, so that the upward movement of lever P will cause the pin A to be lifted above the pin T, the pin V yielding for that purpose; and in order to facilitate this yielding movement the point of the pin V is slightly rounded and the groove in which it rides is made slightly wedge-shaped. D is a soft-iron armature, and E is a pivoted lever to which it is attached. F F are converging arms extending from the lever E and terminating in a verge or wedge-shaped projections, which alternately rest in V-shaped notches sunken into the periphery of a disk (not shown) rigidly attached to the type-wheel shaft, so that the type-wheel will be intermittently revolved by the vibrations of the lever E and one letter at a time presented to the paper on which the messages are printed. B B are ordinary electro-magnets the poles of which are arranged opposite the sides of the armature D. G is an insulator-block attached to the lower end of the lever E. H I J are metallic blocks attached to the block G so as to be insulated from each other. K is also an insulator-block, and L M are Germansilver springs attached thereto, so as to be in-- sulated from each other. The free end of the spring L rests alternately on the blocks H and l, and the spring M rests alternately on the block I and J as the lever E vibrates. N is a common wire communicating with the blocks H J, and with one pole of the main battery. 0 is a wire attached to the block I, and communicating with the other pole of the main battery. The spring M communicates with the key-board, polarized relay, and the ground, and the spring L with the main line. P P, Fig. 3, represents the polarized relay-magnet, the lower part of which is shown in Fig. 1, which may be its position on the instrument. Q Q are semicircular pieces of soft iron attached to the poles of the relaymagnet, and arranged with reference to each other as shown in Plate 3, thus dividing the magnetism and making a double or forked pole. B is a hardened and permanently-magnetized steel tongue or armature, pivoted so as to vibrate between the endsof' the pieces Q Q. S S are platinum-pointed screws, and T is a post projecting from the armature It, and provided with platinum points so arranged as to alternately come in contact with the points of the screws S S as the armature R is vibrated.

Having thus described the mechanical construction and operation of my improved devices and the parts operating in connection therewith, I will now trace the electric currents through the instrument and describe its operation thereon, and the operation of two or more instruments acting together; and, first, the direction of the main current when the machines are at rest. In Plate 3 the main circuits are represented by full lines, the type-wheel locals by dotted lines, and the printing-locals by broken lines. Beginning atinstrnmentor station N o. l, the plus pole of the mam battery enters the instrument at binding-post No.

7; from thence it proceeds through a wire directly to the piece I of the automatic polechanger; thence through spring M and its wire to the type-wheel shaft; thence through 1 the spring It to that one of the pieces H 1n contact therewith, and through its wire to a key corresponding to such piece H; thence to the strips E E, and through key 0 and the polarized relay; and fromthence out at bind- 4 ing-post N o. 8 to the ground. At lnstrument or station No. 2 the plus current passes 5 up the ground wire to binding-post No 11; thence to key 0 thence through strlps E; thence through one of the keys 0 and its w1re to a corresponding piece, H; thence through the spring R, type-wheel shaft, and ts wire, to the polarized relay; thence to binding-post No. 10, and over the line to station No. 1, entering the instrument there at binding-post No. 9; from thence it passes through a wire to spring L of the pole-changer; from thence through the block J, which is connected by a wire to the block H, and through a wire to a Morse relay, which may be attached to the case A; through the said Morse relay and a wire to binding-post No. 6; and from thence to the negative or --pole of the main battery.

The circuit of the type-wheel local battery of instrument No. 1 is as follows: Entering at binding-screw No. 12, it runs to the local magnets B B, where it branches and connects with the inner end of the coil of each of said magnets. The outer ends of said coils connect, respectively, with the platinum-pointed screws S S. From one or the other of these screws the current passes to the armature It according to the screw in contact therewith; from thence it passes to binding-screw No. 13; thence to the type-wheel local battery. The printingcircuit enters binding-post No. 15 and passes on a wire directly to the armature of the Morse relay. When this armature is resting on its back point it connects with one end of the wire on the local printing-magnet I, so that when the Morse relay-circuit is open the print.

ing local circuit is through the said magnet I; from thence it passes to binding-screw No. 14 and to the printing local battery. The local magnet B B is shunted when the pins T and A are in contact, as may be observed by tracing the broken lines on Plate 3 relating to in strument No. 1.

Instrument No. 2 is in all respects like 1nstrument No. 1, except that the former has no pole-changer nor Morse relay, and the printin g local is brought into action in a different manner from that described. The disk corresponding to the .disk S is also differently grooved, and the pins corresponding to the pins T and A have no electrical contact. U in instrument No. 2, Plate 3, is a toothed wheel on the front end of the type-wheel shaft.

' V is a rectangular lever pivoted at its angle,

and its upper end is provided with a wedge-v shaped point corresponding to the teeth or notches on the wheel U, with which it engages. lV is a point in communication with the printing local battery, and the lower end of the lever V rests on the point W when the upper end rests in the said notches. The revolution of the wheel U. vibrates the lever V and breaks its contact with the point W and breaks the local printing-circuit, and the vibration is so rapid that the point W is not in contact with the lever long enough to close the printing local circuit until the type-wheel stops for a moment, when the said circuit closes and a letter is printed.

When the line is not in operation the circuits run in the manner described, with the exception ofthc local type-wheel circuit atinstrumentNo. 1. The purpose of the contact of the pins T and A is to allow the circuit to pass around the magnet B. As the resistance of the circuit through the shunt is infinitely less than through the magnet, it follows that there is little or no magnetism developed in magnet B, and, as the main circuit is running through the polarized relay-magnet in such a direction as to hold its tongue against the platinum point S, there is no magnetism in either B or B. Suppose the operator at instrument No. 1 wishes to communicate with a distant station. He depresses key (l and thereby breaks the main circuit. By breaking this circuit the Morse relay-magnet at instrument No. 1 is allowed to open, and it will in turn, on its back stroke,

' close the printing local and throw the printin g roller or pad and the paper thereon against the type-wheel, so as to make an impression of the letter then presented. At the same time the arm U will be thrown up, and the pin V will reston the periphery of the disk S. This operation will take the shunt from the magnet B and the type-wheel local current acts on the said magnet, so that the armature D is drawn to it. This changes the relative position of the pole-changer blocks and the springs resting theron, and as soon as the key 0 is released the current of the main battery through the polarized relays and over the whole line is reversed. The armatures of the polarized relays are now thrown against the opposite S, and the local circuits through the magnets B in all the instruments are thus closed, and the arma-tures D .are immediately drawn to them. This again reverses the main circuit, and the reverse action'takes place. If the arm U should remain up the instrument would continue to operate so long as the batteries developed sufficient force. But the pin Vfollows the spiral groove in the disk S until the type-wheel of instrument No. 1 has made three revolutions, when the pins T and A are brought in contact. The last stroke of the armature D, which brought the pins T and A in contact, left the springs L and M resting on the blocks I and J, and the-armature R is thrown against the point S, which creates the usual action on all the type-wheel locals except that of instrument No. 1. Magnet B being shunted by the contact of the points T and A, the contact of the armature R with the point S produces no effect on the said magnet; consequently the armatures, both local and main, cease to act. As all the machines in the circuit are controlled by instrument No. 1, they all stop at the same time and on the same letter. The points T and A on all the instruments except no. 1 engage with each other at two revolutions of the type-wheel instead of three, and make no electrical contact, but simply look the type-wheel when the proper letter is presented, and until the typewheel of instrument No. 1 makes another revolution and stops at the same letter. By this means all the type-wheels, if they should be disarranged, are brought into unison so as to act together. If the operator at either instrument n'ow depresses key 0 the printing local of instrument No.1 will be closed and the shunt taken from magnet B. In order to print a word or sentence the operator, before releasingkey 0, depresses the key designated by' the first letter of the word or sentence and at the same time releases key 0. The arm-atures will now vibrate rapidly and carry forward the type-wheels until they reach the letter correspondin g to the key which is still depressed. When the point of the spring It, which moves with the type-wheel, reaches the piece H cor.- responding to the depressed key, it finds the main circuit open at that key; consequently, the vibration of the armatures 1t ceases and the type-wheel stops, its movement depending upon the vibration of said armature. A letter on the type-wheel is now over the printing-pad. All the printing locals are now brought into action-that of instrument No. 1, because the armature of the Morse relay (A, Plate 3, instrument No. 1) falls on its back point on account of the main circuit being open, that of instrument No. 2, because the type-wheel has stopped and allowed the lever V to rest on the point \V. He now finds the key corresponding to the next letter to be printed, depresses this key, and releases the key corresponding to the first letter, and so continues until the message is printed. At ter he has released the last key operated upon, the type-wheel of instrument No. 1 makes three revolutions, and the line is then at rest.

It may be here stated that, as it requires three uninterrupted revolutions of the typewheel to bring the shunting points T and A in contact, and as a letter is printed at least as often as once in each revolution, the said points cannot come in contact during the operation of printing.

I make no claim to many parts of the instruments which I have here shown and described in order to specify the nature, object, construction, and operation of my invention. Es-

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with the type-wheel lever of a printing-telegraph apparatus, an electromechanical pole-changer, constructed and arranged to operate together, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. An electro-mechanical pole-changer arranged, with reference to electro-magnets, circuits, and'armatures, and mechanism operating in connection therewith, so that by once breaking and closing the main circuit at any point in the line the current, on closing said circuit, will be thereafter repeatedly reversed through the whole line by the automatic action of the pole-changer, substantially as described.

3. An electro-mechanical pole-changer arranged, with reference to circuits, electromagnets, and armatures, and mechanism operatiu g in connection therewith, so that by once breaking and closing the main circuit at any point on the line the current, on closing said circuit, will be thereafter repeatedly reversed through the whole line by the automatic action of the pole-changer,

of any or all the instruments along the line, substantially as set forth.

4. An electro-mechanical pole-changer, consisting of the insulated blocks H I J, and insulated springs L and M, arranged to operate together, substantially as described.

5. An electro-mechanical, shunting device and unison-stop, in which the points or pins T and A are brought into electrical contact by means substantially the same as herein described.

and thereby simultaneously actuate the type-wheel mechanism 6. The disk or sunflower, consisting of the insulated pieces H H, in combination with 1 the spring R, type-wheel shaft, local circuits,

reversed main currents, and keys 0, each piece, H, having a closed circuit arranged to a be alternately opened and closed by alternatei 1y depressing and releasing a corresponding key, the depression of which opens the main circuit, rests the type-wheel shaft, and closes a the printing local when the spring R reaches a corresponding piece, H, and the release of 3 which closes the main circuit and sets the type-wheel locals in'action, substantially-as 7. Aline of telegraph instruments operated by one main battery, placed at any point in the line, by means of a combination of circuits and electro-mechanical devices, substantially the same as herein described.

- ELISHA GRAY. WVitnesses:

F. F. WARNER, N. O. GRIDLEY. 

